Reluctantly Yours(89)

“Chloe?” I hear the vulnerability in his voice. The uncertainty that comes with showing your cards and waiting for the other person to do the same.

I don’t want to be anywhere but here. With him.

“I’m yours,” I whisper.

Barrett’s lips part in a sexy smile before his hands move to my cheeks and he kisses me breathless.

I press into him, letting my hands wreak havoc on his perfect hair. He pulls away again and I nearly let out a frustrated groan.

“Hold on. Is there something you’d like to ask me?”

“Can we have sex now?” I ask.

Baxter barks to get Barrett’s attention. He puts the ball in Barrett’s hand and leans back on his hind legs, ready for the next toss.

“No.”

He tosses the ball and Baxter goes racing out of the kitchen to retrieve it.

“No to sex or no that’s not it?”

“Chloe.” He shakes his head, but he’s grinning at me.

I wrack my brain. I really thought it was the sex thing. Barrett leans down to pick my bridesmaid dress up off the floor.

“Oh! Do you want to be my date to Lauren’s wedding?” I ask. “As my non-fake boyfriend?”

“Yes.” He punctuates his answer with a kiss, then he scoops me up off the counter and carries me to the dining room. I guess sex is back on the table. Literally.





CHAPTER 29





Barrett





“Everything looks good,” Chloe says, turning over her menu. “How am I going to decide?”

“Who says we have to? Let’s get it all,” I say.

My phone buzzes in my pocket with an incoming call. I reach in to silence it, not bothering to check who’s calling.

We’re tucked into a booth at the back of a trendy brunch spot in Tribeca across from the independent bookstore we stopped in earlier. The large bag of books we purchased nestled next to Chloe on the booth bench.

“That would be crazy. But I guess we already had sex this morning, so it doesn’t matter how full I get.”

“You realize that means nothing. After watching you devour a plate of blueberry lemon ricotta pancakes with powdered sugar on top, I’m going to want to fuck you again.”

Chloe’s eyes widen.

“Barrett,” she whisper-hisses while squirming in her seat. “You can’t say stuff like that in public.”

I shrug. “You mean I shouldn’t say that I want to fuck you all the time?” I place my hand over hers on the table and rub my thumb over her knuckles. “Don’t worry. If you’re too full for sex, I’ll gladly spend an hour with my head buried between your thighs.”

“You’re ridiculous.” She shakes her head.

My phone starts buzzing again.

“Do you need to answer that?” Chloe nods toward the buzzing sound.

“No. It’s fine.”

“Barrett. You can answer the phone. It might be an emergency.”

“I don’t want to answer the phone.” But, when I take it out of my pocket and see Carl’s name on the screen, I give in.

“What?” It’s not the most welcoming answer because I’m not in the most welcoming mood. This is the second weekend that I’ve spent Sundays with Chloe, no work, no interruptions, and I want to keep it that way.

“Hey, man. Where are you?” he says.

“Getting brunch with Chloe. What do you need?”

“I’m in the office. I thought we’d be going over the final contracts today.”

“No. That’s what Monday is for.”

“Really? That’s never how you’ve wanted to handle a deal like this before.”

“That was before.” I glance over at Chloe studying the menu with deep concentration. I don’t know why she’s bothering; I was serious about getting everything. I was also serious about eating her for dessert.

“So, do you want me to go over it and mark notes for our meeting tomorrow?”

“No, I want you to leave the office now and do something with your Sunday other than work.”

Carl sighs.

“This is a big fucking deal, Barrett. I didn’t want to say anything, but it feels like the last few weeks your head hasn’t been in the game. Until these papers are signed, Fred can walk.”

“He’s not going to. There’s no reason for him to.” I say it with confidence, though I know Carl is right, there’s always a chance something could change his mind.

“Fine. I’ll see you at seven tomorrow,” Carl says.

“I’ll be in late. Make it nine.”

“Wait, are you serious?”

“Goodbye, Carl.” I end the call and turn my phone on silent.

“Everything okay?” Chloe asks.

“You bet.”

The waitress walks over to take our order.

“We’ll take one of everything.”

“Excuse me?” She looks panicked.

“He’s kidding.”

“No, I’m not. She can’t decide, so we’re going to try everything.”

“That’s a waste of food. We won’t be able to eat it all,” Chloe argues.